The Paw Print

Kailash Kher, one of India’s most famous Bollywood singers, performed at the Brooklyn Bandshell in Prospect Park on Saturday night, July 25, 2009. The 5-foot-2 inch man rocked the Brooklyn stadium, which was filled with 2,000 listeners who had entered the event for a mere three dollars.

Bollywood is the nickname for India’s Mumbai-based Hindi-language film industry. Most films produced there are musicals and usually include one or two dance numbers. The dancing is a fusion of classical Indian and Bhangra folk dancing with some western influence.

Colorfully dressed Indian dancers opened the performance. Their bare feet, topped by dozens of silver and gold anklets, hit the stage in an attempt to teach the thrilled Brooklyn audience a traditional Punjabi dance. Most of the Indian listeners leapt out of their seats, ready to join the dancers in perfect rhythm, while other audience members attempted to follow the complicated and mesmerizing moves.

After the dancers gave the audience a lesson, Kher and his eight-member band entered the stage. They were greeted with screams of ecstasy from devoted Indian fans who were overjoyed that the dreamy Bollywood superstar could light up their Brooklyn home. Other audience members cheered as well, including those who had never heard of the artist before.

And then he sang. There was silence, and then a boom of recognition as fans screamed the lyrics and broke out into dance, twirling their hands and ankles, mimicking Bhangra folk dancing.

Kher opened with a seductive song, “Jaana Jogi De Naal” and heated up the cool summer night with his other hits, including “Teri Deewani,” “Allah Ke Bande,” “Saiyyan,” a new track, “Chaandan Mein,” and a cover of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Tere Bin Nahi Ladga Dil Mehra.”

The Indian folk dancing and bright neon lights that splashed over the faces in the audience were not the only reasons why the scene was magical; every audience member, even those who were not Indian, stood and danced, trying to fall into Bollywood step, as they caught on to the enchanting rhythms.

Introducing his songs, Kher (in broken English) sometimes described which Indian God each song celebrated. Before one number, he gestured toward to the audience. “I have performed over 500 concerts, and I have never seen such dancing without security,” he said in a thick accent. This statement was followed by about thirty seconds of confusion, as non-Indian New Yorkers glanced around and reflected about the significance of relaxed security.

But Kher pointed out something that Brooklynites take for granted: with singing and dancing, the conflicts of the world can be suspended for two hours of magical celebration.

Carmen Ortiz found her waitressing job just in time. It was early 2008; both her parents had recently died in a car accident, and the father of her children had been sent to jail for dealing drugs, leaving her with no income to support her two kids. When she started waiting tables on January 18 of that year, she was grateful just to be working.

So she was devastated when the New Jersey diner where she was working closed due to the economic recession. Within weeks, she and her children were homeless.

The recession has been hard on many New Yorkers, but it has been particularly painful for the people who hover near homelessness or cross the line into that population. The number of families entering New York City’s homeless shelters jumped 31 percent between January 2002 and September 2008, according to data cited by the Coalition for the Homeless.

Even before she found herself without a home, Carmen Ortiz had been dealing with poverty for years. She arrived in New York with her parents when she was a very young girl from Panama. Like many other immigrants, her parents were poor and were seeking a better life in the United States.

Carmen dropped out of high school after she became infatuated with a boy named Antonio who was both a drug addict and drug seller. Carmen had two children with him. Her daughter is four years old and her son is three years old. Even though they had a source of income—Antonio’s drug selling—their lives were difficult due to regular abuse by Antonio.

He was later caught selling drugs and was sent to a New York county jail. Carmen went to a homeless shelter for a while since her only source of income was gone. Without a high school diploma, she was unable to find work, despite a prolonged job search.

Times were tough, and during one of the weeks of her job search, both her parents died in a car accident. Fortunately, she eventually found a job as a waitress at a diner. Since Carmen could not afford a babysitter, she took her children with her to work. Carmen was able to make enough money to support herself and her children as well receive classes to finish her high school education and receive a diploma.

Everything was going well for Carmen until the recession hit its hardest. The diner shut down and Carmen lost her job. She is now 20 years old and lives in the Saratoga Inn, a homeless shelter at JFK Airport in Queens, where she and her children continue to struggle. Carmen remains hopeful: “Even though it’s tough I have hope that one day we will get out of this recession and life will get better again.”

Jahaira Soto also lives in the Saratoga Inn at JFK Airport in Queens with her two children. The father of the children was abusive to her so she had to leave the house with only her children and nothing but the clothes on their backs. She has been living in the shelter for seven months.

Jahaira is now 23 years old. She receives some money from public assistance, but has had difficulty finding a job.

She tried to work at a McDonald’s near her home in Brooklyn, but could not afford a babysitter for her children. The money and food stamps she receives only last so long, especially with a one-year-old daughter and a four-year-old daughter for whom she must buy Pampers and other baby products.

Jahaira is unable to receive support from her family or the family of the children’s father. “All I want is to get a good job and make a good life for my children,” she said.

In June 2004, Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled his plan to decrease homelessness by two-thirds. However, instead of declining, the number of homeless families actually grew by 826 families after five years, and there are 5,000 more homeless New Yorkers in shelters than when Bloomberg took office.

The Coalition for the Homeless is one of the organizations working to solve this problem. It has an eviction-prevention program, but due to the increase in evictions over the past couple of months, several families have lost their homes. The fact that homeless shelters are more expensive than permanent homes has increased the burden on the organization.

“It just becomes more difficult to deal with as this recession continues. We have created several programs to allow people to get back on their feet, but there is only so much we can do,” said Patrick Markee, senior policy analyst at the Coalition, One of those programs includes training homeless people to get jobs and be able to support themselves and their families.

Homeless shelters are struggling to keep up with the influx of new clients. Alice Foster, a volunteer at the Saratoga Inn, said, “It is difficult to deal with more people. They just keep coming, and getting enough food needed for them all is difficult.”

Due to the increase in homeless people, there is a chance that shelters will run out space. “I see new people come in about every two to three weeks and this place is starting to get filled in,” said a homeless man named Simon Wilson, at the Springfield Family Inn in Jamaica, Queens.

His observations were echoed by volunteer Diana Penn, who has been working at the Springfield Inn for three and a half years. “I saw a family of four—the parents, with the mother holding a girl of four years, and a daughter of seven years holding the father’s hand—walk in exhausted and filthy. It is an extremely heart wrenching sight and it makes you appreciate what you have,” she said.

Recently, I went to a concert at Nokia Theatre that starred the rappers Method Man, Red Man and Ghost Face Killa.  While these artists’ performances were amazing, the artists before them did not please the crowd, and seemed to be a waste of time.$0  The concert started at 8:00 p.m.; some people were waiting outside since the morning so that they could get a front seat.  But when everyone finally walked in to see the artists listed on our tickets, we watched unknown artists for two hours until Ghostface Killa finally came onto the stage.  But before that, all the loyal fans were furious that they had to watch average rappers on stage, some even throwing bottles of water at the performers. $0$0  It seems like rappers have had more of a tendency to wait a long time before they actually come on stage, and it becomes more irritating each time.  Lucky for the aggrivated fans though, the main artists put on a great show once they got on the stage.  Ghost Face Killa performed a bunch of his classic hits that rap fans have loved for ages, and stopped between songs to talk about the deterioration of “real” hip hop.  $0$0 Being one of the more original hip hop artists, Ghost Face felt the authority to speak about why rap music has changed in a negative manner.  Method and Red also fit into the category of original rap artists, and their performances won over the crowd most respectively.  $0$0 They started out peforming songs from their new album, “The Blackout 2.”  The crowd became most excited when they peformed songs from their old albums in the 90s, and between songs teased the crowd about possibly coming out with a sequal to their movie “How High.”  Although the crowd was shocked with anger for the first two hours of the concert, they were satisfied when they heard the artists that they were expecting to see.$0

    The rain is not responsible for the bleakness that soaks Chelsea galleries this summer. The economic recession is guilty, and is not only affecting the starving artists that dream of solo shows. It is safe to say Chelsea’s elite are also biting their paintbrushes.

    Chelsea, home to New York’s largest art district, has been slapped by the economic downfall. Thirty-seven established galleries, exhibiting some of New York’s finest artists, have closed this year, according to James Kalm, art critic and producer of the James Kalm Report, an online video series that covers New York art events.

    â€œMost of the galleries are closing with no signs of reopening” Kalms said. Twenty-five out of the 37 galleries are permanently closed, while the other 12 galleries were forced to sell their spaces in Chelsea. Prominent galleries, such as Cohan and Leslie, Salander- O’Reilly, Feature, and Clementine have closed in the past few months. Remaining galleries are weathering the economic storm by increasing exhibition lengths, cutting employees, limiting advertising, and participating in fewer art fairs.

    â€œIn two years, if you walk down the streets in Chelsea, two-thirds of the businesses that are open now will no longer exist,” art economist David Kusin reported to PSFK, an online company and news site that reports on arts & culture, advertising and business.

    But that’s just Chelsea. Well-known artists such as Mark Kostabi and Tom Christopher are slowly accepting America’s dead-end market, and are thanking the god of fine art for overseas collectors. According to “Art in America,” at a recent Christie’s auction of Post-War and Contemporary art in London, British and other European collectors exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $24 million for a total take of $31.77 million.

    â€œGermans seem more in tune to art. They appreciate it more and do not seem to buy for status or to be noticed as much as Americans,” Christopher noted. He is currently relying on his exhibitions in Europe and Asia since his New York gallery closed.

    Painter Will Cotton, who shows at the Mary Boone Gallery, is looking past that gallery after it sold its space in Chelsea; he eagerly awaits his upcoming shows in Paris and Berlin.

    Most artists agree that they would not be in the business if it required painting only to satisfy collectors. “If I start feeling the crunch I’ll deal with it, but not by bastardizing something that I love,” said artist Nicole Eisenman. Modifying work to attract new and old collectors is not the answer to increasing sales. “They have all vanished!” Christopher exclaimed, referring to buyers.

    During the current recession, the price of paintings is not necessarily the issue; the hard part is finding collectors. At a New York Christie’s auction in February, seats and slots were empty, unlike auctions in early 2008 when billionaires fell over themselves to claim the next Damien Hirst series. According to the New York Times, in early January Christie’s let go 100 employers in New York, and 300 in Europe.

    But an economic recession does not always translate into disaster. Mark Kostabi, well-known for his art enterprise “Kostabi World,” knew how to prepare for the recession after experiencing the economic meltdown in the 1990s. “I actually enjoy the challenge of problem solving to conquer the new obstacles of this recession. I imagine this might sound a little privileged like ‘Well, that’s easy for you to say because you’re rich and famous,’ but there was a time when I was totally broke and behind with the rent and I remember being happy nonetheless and enjoying the challenge then too.”

By the time sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds reach their senior year in high school, there’s only one thing on everyone’s mind beside getting into college: prom.  It is the celebration of a student’s hard work and the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Money may be the last thing any party-goer wants to consider, but prom season is a time many businesses look forward to.

In the wake of the country’s financial crisis, some of those attending prom reconsidered lavishness and over-the-top expenses. And while some prom-related businesses remained strong, others noticed the affect of weakened consumer interest.

According to John Edwards, a representative at Queens’ Terrace on the Park, a banquet hall and catering facility, the reason why business didn’t decline for the hall this prom season was because prom is such an American tradition that schools wouldn’t dare cancel it due to financial problems.. The consistent number of fifty-five to sixty proms the hall counts on per season “didn’t drop at all.”

Another business that is most often associated with prom is the dress industry that expects girls to be vying for the best dress up to a year in advance.

Vanessa Bermel, a three-year veteran at eDressMe—an online and in-store retail showroom—says that prom season, which lasts from April through June, means big business. EDressMe would usually receive about “twenty to twenty-five customers a day,” said Bermel, a number that didn’t decrease during [prom] season.”

However, Bermel said that she had noticed a definite decrease in the prices of the dresses sold to eDressMe by many noted prom-dress companies such as Jovani and Sherri Hill. This may have assured the continuation of steady dress sales.

Yet not everyone has had the same luck when it comes to keeping the consumer’s interest. After Prom NYC, which sells nightclub tickets to high school seniors for after their proms, suffered tremendously.

The manager, Daryl Darren, blames the decrease in interest completely on the daunting recession. “We were down seventy-five percent in business this season, he said. “We usually sold three to five-thousand tickets a year; we were down to a thousand tickets this year.”

Some consumers also felt the pinch of economic belt tightening. “There were somany nice dresses,” said Yollyn De La Cruz, 17, a recent graduate of MillenniumTribeca High School, when asked about how she picked dresses for the senior prom she’d been planning since the end of her junior year. “But I had to keep asking myself which was the least expensive, but at the same time be a dress I really liked.”

De La Cruz, who spent about one $170 on her dress, claimed that the most complicated decision about prom came in the form of limo versus party bus.

The party bus, the latest addition to the prom scene, is a bus that can hold up to fifty people at a time, something that definitely cuts down on the cost. Although there were nineteen people in De La Cruz’s stretch Hummer limo, a choice that was made because of its attractiveness, each patron ended up paying $125 for the bus alone.

All in all, De La Cruz said that although the price tag for her prom experience was “around six to seven-hundred dollars,” the cost meant little when considering just how well her experience epitomized the celebration aspect of prom.

As Edwards said confidently, prom is going to occur regardless of financial situations because it has become a celebration staple in American culture. Some businesses have realized that people like to celebrate accomplishment and hard work, and have been able to stay strong by generating more business in the wake of the recession, while others try their hardest to survive.

“Everyone couldn’t stop talking about it and still can’t,” De La Cruz said excitedly about her prom. “And I don’t even think anyone missed it, no matter how much of a factor cost played into it.”

When I was little, when my mother asked me if I wanted to go for a walk, I would ask where we were going.  Completely unappreciative of aimless wandering, I needed to know the purpose of our walk.  Here are two trails where the journey is just as amazing as the destination.

Monument Mountain

 

Monument Mountain, famous for its rocks, is named for the rock cairn that marks the burying place of a mythical Mohican woman who jumped to her death after her love for her cousin was forbidden by her tribe.  Her story is chronicled in a poem entitled “Monument Mountain” by William Cullen Bryant.  According to The Trustees of Reservations website, William Cullen Bryant ‘s poem is only part of Monument Mountain’s literary history.  Its great natural beauty has inspired many artists and writers.  When a thunderstorm interrupted Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville’s picnic, they retreated into a cave and spent the afternoon in deep discussion.  The combination of the foul weather and conversation is said to have inspired Melville’s celebrated novel “Moby Dick.”

The trails that climb Monument Mountain wind through pristine forests.  The three miles of trails pass through mostly white pine and oak forest.  Plant lovers can also identify mountain laurel, hemlock, maple, and birch trees.  A winding brook runs next to the trail.  There are several waterfalls of varying sizes that are awe-inspiring.  On a hot day, it is pleasant to dip your feet in the icy water.  Watch out for the mosquitoes that converge by the brook, or you will be dinner.  However, the upper trails are remarkably mosquito-free.

Western Massachusetts was littered with boulders during the Ice Age.   In some spots, steps have been carved out of the rocks to make the trail more accessible.   Other times, it is necessary to clamber over boulders.  While this sounds difficult, it is actually lots of fun.  It gives the trip a hint of adventure.

Monument Mountain also plays host to a remarkable amount of wildlife.  Frogs and toads hop along the trail.  Many different types of birds can be seen swooping through the foliage.  My father spotted a baby bear climbing down from a tree and crashing through the woods.  In addition to wild animals, Monument Mountain allows people to bring their family dogs on the hike.  Along the way, we saw many dogs accompanying their owners over the boulders.

The summit of Squaw Peak at Monument Mountain provides panoramic views of Western Massachusetts.  The summit is a rocky outcropping, with miniature pines growing straight out of the crevasses, allowing excellent visibility.  The view of farms and forests from Squaw Peak is truly breathtaking.  It is relaxing to sit on a warm boulder and look out over the surrounding countryside after a long hike.

Location: Route 7, Great Barrington, MA.

Facilities: Picnic tables near the parking lot and free trail maps.  There are no restrooms.

Equipment:  Although my mother hiked Monument Mountain in a pair of ballet flats and my father prefers to clamber over boulders in flip-flops purchased at the local dollar store, I would recommend a pair of shoes with decent treads like sneakers, hiking boots, or hiking sandals.  Sunscreen and bug spray are essential supplies while hiking, even though the foliage affords some sun protection during the hike and the mosquitoes are not too aggressive.  Most importantly, bring a water bottle to enjoy at the summit.

Bartholomew’s Cobble

What is a cobble?  Though it sounds like a fruity desert, a cobble is a rock-encrusted hill.  The trails weave through the mounds of boulders and along the sides of the Housatonic River.  The unique terrain is home to a diverse ecosystem of ferns, moss, lichen, and wild flowers.  The damp earth along the Ledges Trail provides a habitat for brilliantly colored mushrooms.  The ferns and wild flowers grow miraculously out of small cracks in the damp, moss-covered boulders.  It is astounding how many types of moss grow on the boulders.  They vary in color and texture.  Some are delicate and fluffy; others are star shaped and prickly.   According to the Trustees of Reservations website, over 800 types of vascular plants live in the Cobble and there are more forest types in the small reserve than in any other spot in Berkshire County.  Bartholomew’s Cobble is literally a naturalist’s dream.

The Ledges Trail also provides beautiful vistas looking out on the Housatonic River.  The trails are well kept.  Park employees have built rough-hewn bridges over muddy patches and streams, as well as water bars—rows of rocks built across a trail to divert water from washing away the path.  Like most hikes in the Berkshires, the trails are pristine and litter-free.   

Down the road from the Cobble is Hurlburt’s Hill.  Visitors can reach the summit by following the Woods Road or by hiking down the Boulder Trail.  Boulder Trail’s plant life is different from the plant life found in the Cobble.  It is amazing how much the terrain can change in a few hundred yards.  The woods along Boulder Trail are filled with the aromatic smell of cedar and pine, rather than the wet, woodsy smell of the Cobble.  Yet the mosquitoes are ubiquitous.  If you do not keep moving, they will descend upon you like buzzards on a carcass.  My mother bravely stopped to photograph some orange and yellow wood ear fungi growing on a rotting log.   I didn’t stop moving for long because I did not want to be eaten alive by mosquitoes.     

At the top of the hill is a wildflower meadow.  The sound of crickets is deafening.  When you leave the woods and step out into the full sunlight of the meadow, the mosquitoes suddenly disappear.    After a short, steep walk through the meadow, you arrive at the summit.  There you can relax on a wood bench and look out at the beautiful farmland and forests of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Location: Weatogue Road, Ashley Falls, Sheffield, MA.

Facilities:  The visitor’s center has handicapped-accessible public restrooms.  It also houses a room that has an exhibition on the animals, plants, and history of the area.  Tours led by naturalists and workshops for children and adults are also offered.

Equipment:  Due to recent rain, the mosquitoes at the Cobble are numerous and vicious.  Leave no inch of skin uncovered or risk being eaten alive!  A long sleeved shirt and pants are necessary, as well as a liberal application of bug spray.  After ten minutes of hiking, I was wishing for one of those geeky hats that have mosquito netting attached to the brim.  Despite them, the hike is well worth the trouble.  In drier weather, Bartholomew’s Cobble has fewer mosquitoes.

Alexandra Arkhangelskaya was climbing the stairs of the DeKalb subway station one spring morning when she felt someone tug on her school bag.

“Yo, heads up! Metal detectors,” said her friend. She grimaced. He ran off to warn others.

Arkhangelskaya had a cell phone that was usually hidden deep within her bag, but she realized the phone would stop her from getting through this morning’s surprise metal detectors. Deciding not to risk the chance of having her phone confiscated, she stopped by a local deli and asked the man behind the counter to hold on to her phone for her.

This is a common tactic for many of Alexandra’s peers.

Alexandra attends Brooklyn Technical High School, one of New York City’s specialized schools. It sees little crime, excellent test scores, and has a relatively high attendance rate.

Yet even these high-achievement schools are not immune to the stringent security tactics recently implemented in public schools. Like other schools in New York City, security officials at Brooklyn Tech every so often execute random metal detector screenings.

“It’s not like we’re criminals or anything. This seems really unreasonable. Such a waste of effort,” Alexandra said.

Brooklyn Tech students are among the more fortunate teens in the city, because drastic security protocols are applied only occasionally at their school.

But every morning, tens of thousands of students in the city are welcomed back to school with the beeping of metal detectors, the impatient faces of security guards, and an air of distrust. They are forbidden to bring in most electronic devices, including iPods and cell phones, which are often essential to students who commute to school over long distances. They are all too familiar with zero-tolerance policies, which mandate the application of harsh punishments to offenders, regardless of circumstance. These incidents often conclude with school expulsions or even, occasionally, jail time.

These measures are meant to prevent school violence. But in June of this year, the New York Civil Liberties Union released a study claiming that New York City schools can more effectively combat violence if they eliminate the high-tech security equipment and strict police discipline strategies that have become a normal part of school life for many New York City teens.

The New York City public school system is a place where School Safety Officers outnumber guidance counselors, and where students, some as young as five years old, have been handcuffed for non-criminal incidents including tardiness and writing on desks.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has introduced many controversial policies, especially the “Impact Schools” initiative. This program evaluates schools at high risk and heavily increases police presence, enforces zero-tolerance policies, and implements search procedures that include students having to submit to bag searches and pat-downs.

Some argue that these tactics are just an easy way for politicians and administrators to achieve instantaneous progress and results.

According to the NYCLU, these results can be achieved with less draconian measures. In its report, the NYCLU profiled six New York City public high schools that are within poor neighborhoods and have student bodies consisting predominately of minority groups.

All six schools have jettisoned some of the most aggressive security measures. They have thrown away zero-tolerance policies, rejected metal-detectors, and opted for a school-employed security staff with more accountability to school officials. They also promote conflict resolution programs and peer mediation while involving students in development and revision of the code of conduct.

According to the NYCLU, these tactics have worked and these schools have earned the label of “Successful Schools”.

NYCLU is not the only organization that has addressed this issue. For the past few years, various medical groups, including the American Psychological Association, have backed the nullification of zero-tolerance policies, which have become the standard in many public schools. They instead suggest alternative means of reducing school violence, many of which have been implemented in these “successful schools”.

“What is most important is that the schools provide comprehensive, instructive efforts that help both protect victims while addressing and promoting proper behavior,” said Jonathan Cohen, the president of the Center for Social and Emotional Education, an organization that helps schools infuse social and emotional instruction as part of academics.

As expected, many schools and organizations aren’t buying it.

The Department of Education and the New York City Police Department have denied the validity of CSEE’s claims. They provide their own statistics, stating that major crime within schools is down 9 percent in just this past school year in comparison to the previous year, and that crime is down 44 percent since the 2000-2001 school year. Additionally, metal detectors have helped confiscate several handguns in the last decade.

In some schools, violence is so endemic that it is deemed impossible to function without these precautions in order to ensure the safety of the students and staff.

“These measures are absolutely necessary. Less than five years ago, crime in New York City schools was rampant. There were homicides: students killing students, students killing teachers,” said Marcia Benjamin, a guidance counselor at Canarsie High School, a school labeled as a “failing school” and which will be fazed out until it is no longer one entity but rather five different schools. (The Department of Education is dividing up many schools in this way, in order to create more authority and accountability in individual schools.)

“Before zero-tolerance policies, there were seemingly no consequences. A lot of kids, after the hearings, would just be placed back in the same school. There was no other place to put them. It was a broken system. Now they are excluded from schools and placed appropriately,” said Benjamin. “Even now students still sneak in weapons,” but now, “a student can be taken into custody right away.”

Benjamin’s school had previously put into place some of NYCLU’s suggested solutions, but had not made them mandatory for students. They failed.

“A lot of success is found when certain programs are mandated. There is change in return when you involve students, teachers, parents,” she said.

Advocates on both sides of the issue agree that there’s no simple solution to school violence, and that any serious change will require the efforts of school administrators as well as the students they are charged with protecting.

Cohen says, “The question now is what is really going to engage youth and inspire them to take the higher road.”

Benjamin adds, “I think there will be changes. The most important is promoting tolerance and acceptance.”

         Single mother Angela Ricardo, grew up and raised her two children in apartment 4C. But that feeling of safety associated with home vanished when Ricardo received an eviction notice two weeks ago. Ricardo knew there was one place to plead her case and hope for the chance to avoid eviction: housing court.

           With the ongoing economic crisis, the Bronx Housing Court continues to admit large numbers of people through its revolving doors. Darkened glass windows and jutting geometric architecture make the Bronx Housing Court, located on 1118 Grand Concourse, appear foreign and out of place amongst the traditional brownstones and apartments.

Inside the building, past the metal detectors and police officers, are waiting people who look more foreign and out of place than the building itself.

On a Thursday afternoon, Ricardo and her two daughters, ages 4 and 8, are among the nine people waiting on line, eviction notices in hand,  to ask general questions about the eviction process.

Also waiting in line, is Maria Sanchez, who owes hervlandlord $800. Sanchez worries she will become confused with the legal process and hopes to meet with an official who can guide her through the process. “I can’t afford a lawyer and I don’t understand legal terms,” Sanchez shared.

            According to Housing Court Answers, a not-for-profit organization devoted to helping tenants seek legal advice and representation, Sanchez’s concern is not new. In 1986 the organization conducted a research study titled “Five Minute Justice.” The data collected showed that the average cases were dealt with in five minutes and that 88 percent of the tenants could not afford attorneys. Without proper legal protection, tenants could not properly defend themselves. But times are changing.

Recent studies have shown that the Housing Courts are improving how they represent tenants. On November 2006, the Civil Court of the City of New York, along with other official Justice offices, began a program that trained fifty volunteer lawyers and supervised the lawyers as they sought negotiations between tenants and landlords. The study was a success and the lawyers were able to shorten the time the tenant and landlord spent in front of the judge by finding middle ground beforehand.

With the success of the study and an urgency for better tenant representation, volunteer lawyers and staff members hired to explain the legal process can be found in the Bronx Housing Court. However, volunteer lawyers and other workers find it hard to ameliorate the impact that the recession is having on tenants and landlords in the poorest borough.

According to Fed Stats, an online data outlet released bythe United States government, in 2006 the average person residing in the Bronx made $13,959, about  $9,430 below the average income of a person residing in New York State. In March of 2009, the unemployment rate in the Bronx was 10.8 percent, just over 3 percent more than residents of New York City.

 More Bronx natives are being drawn to the Housing Court than in any of the other boroughs, according to a 2008 Caseload Activity Report from the City’s Civil Court. The government survey, that summarizes all recent filings within the Housing Courts, shows the Bronx Housing Court filed 82,848 petitions.

“I can tell you this. There aren’t more cases created [at 1118 Concourse] but in other places in the Bronx [such as] Riverdale, the Housing Court is seeing an influx of people,” said a clerk, who asked to remain anonymous. Though new files may not be starting at the Housing Court on 1118 Grand Concourse, the recession has affected some of those who do have existing cases.

“I can tell you that the recession is having an impact and has added to the trouble that these people are having when it comes to keeping their homes,” said Shariff Tahan, 29, a volunteer lawyer who generally dedicates his time to settling disputes between tenants and landlords or offering clarification on legal issues. “Even if the number of case files don’t show that there are more people entering the [Bronx Housing] system, more people are entering because they [have] lost their job[s] or they can’t pay off previous debt.”

For an hour and a half Sanchez and her daughters wait their turn, sitting patiently on a wooden bench. “I just helped a tenant and a landlord solve their issue on the third floor,” said Alex Klein, a volunteer lawyer, when he approached Mrs. Sanchez, who would be his tenth case that day.

On each of the five floors, along the lengthy corridor, standing up or sitting down on the wooden benches are numerous caseworkers flipping through court documents. Klein’s job requires him to settle disagreements between landlords and tenants by negotiating a payment plan for the renter. 

            â€œIt can be a frustrating process, but it’s worth it. For those not willing to negotiate, I schedule them to meet with a judge, either that day or sometime else. People are at all different stages in their evictions.” But on one level first time visitors tend to be on the same level—they are unclear how to navigate the modern building with five flights of towering stairs, a building they wish they never had to enter in the first place.

After passing through the metal detectors, tenants and landlords are instructed to proceed to the second floor. The landingopens to a bare sitting room, where it’s common to see someone stretched out on a bench sleeping or a family leaning on each other with bored expressions. To the right is the long corridor that the Bronx Housing Court is infamous for. 

            â€œWhen you come out [of the court] the walk down [the hall] can seem like two seconds or three hours, [depending] on the ruling,” said Maggie Dreandre, a mother of five who is about to be evicted, after speaking to the head judge. “It’s not a nice place in the court room.
There is a judge and rows of benches. People just sit there waiting for their turn. Then when you’re name is called you have five to ten minutes to talk [with] the judge and try to come up with one last [deal].”

“There is a lot of waiting involved,” shared Louis Rodriguez, 45. Rodriguez has not paid her rent for five months after she lost her job working at Staples. Four days ago she received an eviction notice. “I had it coming. I’m not complaining, but this process is long. I looked in and the court room is scary, I don’t want to go in. It looks like people just sit there, wait there.”

According to New York State Law, a landlord is not able to evict a tenant unless the tenant is brought to Housing Court. “It can take months,” said Sashaela Maldado, 20, whose father is a landlord of five apartment buildings. Eviction is a long processes for landlords and depending on the cooperation of the tenants it can take anywhere from three to four months or even a year.

“I’m here because one of our tenants hasn’t paid their rent of $200 for five months. It’s not really fair, we look like the bad people but the eviction process takes time and we need the money to pay for our bills,” said Maldado. But landlords are not the only ones looking for a way to solve financial problems.

For many families, there seems to be a constant struggle to find a decent job and hold onto their apartments. “I was working and then I got laid off, so it went from a two income family to a one income family,” said mother of four Manlanee Headly, 32. She blames the collapse of the economy as the reason she is facing eviction. Headley has come to the Bronx Housing Court to ask for three more weeks to acquire the $2,632 that her family owes to her landlord.

“I have spent my day in this building for the past three days and each day talk to people who have been hurt by the recession more [than I],” said Robert Z., who asked that his last name not be used. “We wish for two things, to either win the lottery or be able to go back and invest in good stocks.” Bystanders shake their heads in agreement.

 5Pointz: ‘The Institute of Higher Burnin’

    Ink runs across the walls everyday, sweat rolls down their faces and the sun beats down and radiates every color across the 200,000-square-foot canvas. Diversity is seen in every spray-painted picture. China, Switzerland, Brazil and all fifty of our states have all gathered in this one area.

    5Pointz, also called Phun Phactory and The Institute of Higher Burnin,’ is located in Long Island City, New York, just two blocks away from the Court House Square station on the 7 train. Every day, artists and tourists come to admire the paintings that have been sprayed on the walls.

    The old factory building was turned into a graffiti canvas by Flushing resident, Jonathan Cohen, also known by his tag “Meres One.” He was interested in graffiti since he was 13 years old, when he saw a smurf painted on a wall.

    Cohen later attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, and his interest in graffiti grew stronger with time. “He produced hundreds of aerosol art murals throughout all five New York boroughs, along the East Coast, and even in Holland,” says the 5Pointz Web site, about Cohen.

    In 2001, the artist opened the Phun Phactory again after it was completely vandalized in hope of it someday becoming an outdoor graffiti exhibit. He renamed the factory 5Pointz and is currently trying to recreatel the paintings that have been destroyed or have worn off over the years.

    The factory has become very important to many people, especially teenagers, who have begun to think of it as a second home. They stand outside the factory with their black books in hand, ready to sell their art or receive donations in the hopes of someday becoming an artist like Meres One. He is well-respected by his staff and always welcomes new artists to express themselves on such a large canvas.

The Brooklyn-born musician Maxwell is back. However, his new album, titled BLACKsummers’night, is a failed attempt at a comeback by a crooner famous for his meditative love songs. 

 

It’s been eight years since Maxwell released an album, the last one being Now, which delivered the acclaimed “This Woman’s Work,” featured on the soundtrack of the popular movie, Love & Basketball.

 

Although his latest single, “Pretty Wings,” has been having a strong run on the Hip-Hop/R&B Billboard Charts, topping out at #2, the rest of the album is more experimental, with a Lenny Kravitz-esque rock & roll flow that doesn’t match the potential and personality of Maxwell as an artist.

 

With lyrics such as “Gotta brace my/soul to tell ya how I feel/Gotta listen to the tears people/cry for me in a world that’s so wild,”“Help Somebody” comes across as the crooner’s attempt at being selfless. However,the lyrics are overshadowed by the screeching guitars on the track. That is a common problem throughout the short, nine-track album.

 

Maxwell’s lyrics are beautiful and sophisticated, traits that are even more impressive at a time when the airwaves are dominated by “performers”with audio-enhanced voices who smugly brag about Birthday Sex. Every song is evidence of the metamorphosis he’s endured internally and in many up-and-down relationships that make him an appealing artist to both sexes as well as an easy one to relate to.

 

So, if you’re in search of an album you can listen to just to appreciate for its lyrics, this is the one.